Asiatische Sprachen im deutschen Sprachdenken des Barock und der Aufklärung

Abstract As transition from the Early Modern Age to the Modern Age, the 17th and the 18th centuries are seen as historic period with tremendous relevance for the historical development of the German language – from a social and culture-historical perspective. The often transfiguring interest in different regions of Asia, as well as Arabic or Chinese regions, is seen as special phenomenon of this age. The present article aims to analyse the result of this in the German linguistic reflection of baroque and enlightenment. After outlining some supporting documents of Asian languages in general, especially supporting documents of Arabic and Chinese will be analysed in detail. The research focusses here on word usage, genealogy and typology, linguistic characteristics, as well as comparison and evaluation.